The present invention relates to a document information management system managing document information printed on a paper, and more particularly to a document information management system with improved relation between a human and environment for a computer system (HCI: Human-Computer-Interaction) using paper on which a document is recorded (medium form).
In recent years, in association with progress in the fields of computer-related technology and man-machine interface or with improvement in network environment, more and more documents have been electronized, and also in association with the technological progress, the tendency for a paper-less environment in business offices has been promoted.
To describe the situation more concretely, various types of documents are prepared (electronized) on a screen of a personal computer/work station, and such operations as editing, copying, transferring, sharing, filing, proofreading, and retrieving the electronized document information can easily be executed in a computer system (in a digitalized world or in a virtual reality). Especially with development of a network, now it is possible to distribute (transfer) an electronized document to each individual without outputting the document with such a device as a printer, which further promotes the tendency for a paper-less environment in offices.
Also an electronized document can automatically and systematically be managed by a document information management system built in a computer, so the works for sorting stored documents or retrieving a document which a user hopes to read have become easier, and further there are provided the advantages such as reduction of a total volume of documents by sharing documents among a plurality of users, improvement in security of secret documents by setting a password or the like, and correlation of a plurality of documents to each other.
However, although electronized documents provide various merits, when compared to a document outputted on actual recording paper (described as paper document hereinafter), there are various types of restrictions in easiness to read, portability, easiness to be handled, environmental conditions for its availability, or continuity to actual work, and for this reason, when using an electronized document for an actual job, in many cases it is more efficient to output the electronized document with a printer or the like on recording paper once and then use it as a paper document. So, in the office environment in the future, paper documents and electronized documents would coexist and be used according to a purpose of each job.
With the conventional technology, however, as there is no continuity or correlation of information as digital information between the digital world such as a computer system and paper documents, there have been the problems as described below.
At first, even when electronized documents are put under management by a document information management system built in the digital world, once an electronized document is outputted as a paper document, the correlated information which the electronized document has, such as address information, security information such as a password, and linkage information for linking the document to other document each in the document information management system disappear, and for this reason the paper document has only a value as output from the document information management system.
Secondly, as it is impossible to directly access the digital world using a paper document as a medium, it is required for a user to operate a keyboard or the like to access it, which means low convenience in actual use.
Although there has been a method to directly access the digital world using paper as a medium like in a case of a mark sheet, as a previously formatted and dedicated mark sheet is used, there are various restrictions in actual use, and it can not be used as a general document.
Thirdly, in the digital world, there is a hypertext document based on an advanced concept for an electronized document, but when this hypertext document is outputted as a paper document, only visualized two-dimensional information is outputted and original information as a hypertext is lost, so that there are disadvantages such as loss of information and lowering in its convenience.
Concretely, a hypertext is a group of linked (correlated) texts (electronized documents), and the basic concept is realization of multi-media software enabling the user to refer to each of texts multi-dimensionally correlated in a layered form through link structure in an arbitrary order. For this reason, the hypertext document contains, in addition to information visually provided to the user, information used for forming the link structure (namely, information as a hypertext). But once the hypertext document is outputted as a paper document, the information as the hypertext is lost, so that the outputted paper document is not any more a hypertext document.
It should be noted that, as a hypertext document can exist only as an electronized document in the conventional technology, the concept of hypertext itself has been used only in the digital world (virtual reality) in which electronized documents are treated. For this reason, there has not been a concept for realization of a hypertext by using a paper document, which is treated as a hypertext document, in the real world (this concept is defined and described as a paper hypertext hereinafter).
It is an object of the present invention to enable incorporation of a paper document in a document information management system in the digital world, to enable direct access to the digital world using the paper document as a medium, and further to realize a hypertext using the paper document (paper hypertext) by realizing continuity and correlation of information between the digital world such as a computer system and a paper document.
The document information management system according to the present invention comprises a hypertext preparing unit for preparing a hypertext; a file unit for storing therein hypertexts prepared by the hypertext preparing unit and correlated information files correlated to each other through link structure of the hypertexts; a medium form information preparing unit for receiving the hypertext, preparing image extraction information by extracting only image data from information in the hypertext, preparing particular described information as well as linkage information for linking the described information to a correlated information file in the file unit from information having link structure such as a button, a switch, or an icon of information in the hypertext, and preparing medium form information by synthesizing the image extraction information, described information, and linkage information; a medium form output unit for printing the medium form information on recording paper and outputting the recording paper as a medium form; a selection information adding unit for adding selection information for selecting a desired described information from those printed on the medium form; a reader for reading the selection information and linkage information from the medium form with the selection information added via the selection information adding unit; a retrieving unit for retrieving an appropriate correlated information file from the file unit according to the selection information as well as linkage information read by the reader; and an output unit for outputting the correlated information file retrieved by the retrieving unit, so that continuity and correlation of information between a digital world such as a computer system and a paper document can be constructed, a paper document can be incorporated in the document information management system in the digital world, direct access to the digital world can be achieved by using the paper document as a medium, and further a hypertext using the paper document (paper hypertext) can be realized.
Other objects and features of this invention will become understood from the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings.
A more complete appreciation of the present invention and many of the attendant advantages thereof will be readily obtained as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein: